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Wadhawan Food Retail Pvt Ltd (WFRL), a part of the Wadhwan Group, which owns India’s second largest housing finance company DHFL, and which runs flagship ‘Spinach’ food and grocery (F&G) retail chain is expanding its operations in the next four years.

It has planned to invest Rs. 1,400 crores to achieve annual turnover of 5,000 crores within four years. In addition to internal accruals, the company could look at raising resources through promoters and public offering of shares after 12 to 18 months. The group has so far invested Rs. 125 crore in the business, says a DNA report.

Currently, the group is operating 90 food and grocery (F&G) and six home products stores. The group expects to increase the number of outlets to over 200 by March, 2008, says the report.

Wadhwans are quite aggressive on both organic and inorganic fronts. Besides, organic growth, the group in the recent past has bought out 13 stores chain operating under brand name of “S-Mart” in Bangalore and acquired Mumbai-based direct retail business ‘Sangam Direct’ of FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever Limited. Apart from this, the group also acquired control of Mumbai-based Maratha Co-operative Store and acquired Delhi-based retail chains operating under ‘Home Market’ and ‘Sab Ka Bazaar’ brand names.

In the meanwhile, the group’s flagship DHFL has picked up 19.9% stake in the company for an investment of Rs 5 crore.